Bath mat shower means



A. N. I UCIAN 3,292,185

BATH MAT SHOWER MEANS Dec. 20, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Deo'. 1, 1964CD5 :E un

\NVENTOR ARSENE N- UCIAN ATA" RNEY Dec. 2o, 1966 *Y A. N. wcm 3,292,185

BATHMAT SHOWER MEANS Filed Deo. 1, 1964 s sheets-sheet z l 3i' I7 froo\o\o oooooooroooog'ogrw oooooooooo'ooooooo INVENTOR 'ARSENE N- gum/mATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1966 A. N. LUCIAN BATH MAT SHOWER MEANS Filed D60. l,1964 I5 Sheets-Shoot L' INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent O3,292,185 BATH MAT SHGWER MEANS Arsene N. Lucian, 13.0. EoX 300,Manasquan, N J. 08736 Filed Dec. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 415,082 Claims. (Cl.4-145) The present invention relates to bath mats and more particularlyto a non-slip bath mat having spray directing means associatedtherewith.

The disadvantages of an overhead shower bath are that the scalp and thehair thereon are wetted unless a shower cap is worn, and that it isdifiicult to rinse the arm pits and the crotch with an overhead spray.In many case a womans presently fashionable coiffure is such that ashower cap cannot be worn without unduly disturbing the coiffure.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide showerbath means associated with a bath mat for directing sprays of waterupwardly against the body of the person standing on the mat so as tothoroughly Wash and rinse the arm pits and the crotch with a minimum ofeffort and without wetting the scalp.

Another object is to provide such a shower bath mat which can be placedin a stall shower bath or in a bath tubequipped with or without ashower.

Another object is to provide such a shower bath mat which is readilyconnected to a source of water under pressure regardless of where themat is used.

Another object is to provide such a shower bath mat which can beequipped with hand or foot operated valve means for controlling the flowof the water.

Another object is to provide such a shower bath mat wherein the spraydirecting means is so arranged that the upward sprays of water will notget beyond the rim of the tub when the mat is placed therein.

Another object is to provide such a shower bath mat wherein the angle atwhich the spray of water is directed upwardly can be arranged or variedin any convenient manner.

A further object is to provide such a shower bath mat which is simpleand practical and can be fabricated, assembled and installed in aneconomical manner.

Other and further objects of the invention, will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objectsgenerally are accomplished by providing a bath mat which comprises abase constructed to rest securely on a supporting surface and to providesafe footing for a person when standing on the base, tubular means onthe base having an inlet and being formed with a row of apertures fordirecting sprays of water upwardly and directly against the body of theperson standing on the base, and conduit means having a rst endconnected to the inlet and having a second end for connection to asource of water under pressure.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description, and is shown -in the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of the specication, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary schematic perspective view of a shower bath matinstalled in a stall shower.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a more elaborate shower bath mat in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged Sectional view taken along the line 3 3 on FIG. 2illustrating an arrangement for varying the angle at which the spray ofwater is directed upwardly.

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FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating two rows of aperturesfor providing sprays iat diiferent angles.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 5-5 on FIG. 2illustrating a foot operable valve which can be installed in the mat.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings in detail, there is shown aportion of a stall shower comprising a floor F; walls W; a shower headSH mounted on one of the walls; and handles HH and HC of valves forcontrolling the ilow of hot land cold water to the shower head locatedbeneath the shower head with the plumbing leading to the valves and theshower head and the valves being concealed in back of the wall.

The shower head shown herein is of a conventional spray directionadjustable type which includes an inlet pipe section P formed with asocket S, a ball B mounted in the socket to provide a ball and socketjoint, and a spray nozzle N threadedly secured to the ball.

The stall shower is equipped with a shower mat 9 in accordance with thepresent invention which rests on the floor F and includes a base 10constructed in a conventional manner so as to not slide on the floor andto provide safe footing for a person when standing on the base. The baseis provided with tubular means 11 having an inlet 12 and being formedwith one or more rows of apertures 14 which are arranged for directingsprays of water directly upwardly and directly against the body of theperson standing on the base.

Preferably, the tubular means is an oblong rectangular frame formedintegrally with a base composed of rubber or other suitable plasticmaterial and having a row of apertures 14 at each of the shorter sidesand having the inlet 12 at one of the longer sides. An advantage of sucha frame is that when it is filled with water the weight of the waterserves to hold down the edges of the base.

A hose 15 has one end connected to the inlet 12 and has its other endconnected to the shower head. The latter connection can be made byremoving the spray nozzle from the ball, connecting one leg of a T 16 tothe ball, another leg to the spray nozzle and the third leg to the hose.The T 16 is provided with a conventional manually operable two-way valve17 for selectively directing the water to the shower head or to the mat.

Alternatively, a valve 17 may be provided at the inlet 12 for footoperation or a valve 17 may be connected in lthe hose 15 at a convenientlocation for hand operation. In its simplest form, such a valve 17 couldbe a pinchcock tube clamp of the type shown in Fisher Modern LaboratoryAppliances, 1963, page 236. part 5-860.

The shower mat shown in FIG. 1 can also be placed on the bottom of abath tub with the rows of apertures extending crosswise in the tub sothat the sprays of water are confined within the side rims of the tub.When so used, the mat or the hose 15 need not be equipped with a valve,but its upstream end is equipped with a conventional adaptor which canbe removably secured to the water spigot of the tub, whereby the spigotvalves are employed for controlling the flow of hot and cold water tothe mat and the rate of flow.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, a more elaborate mat 9 is shown wherein a footoperated valve 17 is installed in one of the long sides of the tubularframe at about the midpoint thereof, and the tubular sections of theframe at the short sides are provided with a platform 19 for the purposeabout to be described,

As shown in FIG. 3, the platform 19 constitutes an upper portion of thetubular section, and the platform and the bottom portion 20 of thetubular section are connected to the base 10 by a thick section 21. Theupper portion of the tubular section and its platform 19 are flexible.

The apertures 14 normally are arranged to direct sprays of waterupwardly at a given angle, for example at 75 to the horizontal, so thatthey strike the upper body portions of the person and are directed underthe arm pits. However, by pressing on the platform 19 with the foot ofthe person standing on the mat, the outer upper portion 22 of thetubular section 11 is curled inwardly or counterclockwise as viewed andshown in broken lines, so that the apertures 14 are now located todirect sprays of water upwardly at a smaller angle, for example at 60,which sprays strike the lower body portions and are directed under thecrotch.

Alternatively, such a spray direction varying arrangement can bedispensed with by providing the tubular section with two rows ofapertures 14 as shown in FIG. 4 with one row set at about 75 and theother row set at about 60, or by providing a single row of staggeredapertures which are alternately set at about 75 and about 60. Likewise,the apertures at one end of the mat could be set at one angle and theapertures at the opposite end of the mat could be set another angle toaccomplish the foregoing simply by the bather turning around 180.

While the mat have been shown herein as being rectangular, it will beappreciated that the mat could be circular or oval.

In FIGS. 2 and 5, a foot operable valve 17 is shown which comprises abody 25 adapted to be secured within the tubular frame 11 at one of itslonger side sections and having an inlet 26 formed with a nipple 27 forconnection to the hose 1S, two outlets 28 located for discharge into thetubular section 11 and a valve seat 29 between the inlet and theoutlets; a valve member 30 for engaging the seat 29 having astemlprojecting outwardly of the valve body; a foot operable lever 32pivotally mounted on the valve body at 33 for engaging the valve sternto unseat the valve member 30; and a return spring 34 for normallycausing the valve member to engage its seat to close the valve. Theoutlets 28 face in opposite directions within the tubular frame 11 anddirect water to the rows of apertures at the respective ends of the mat.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the presentinvention provides a novel and useful shower mat for providing upwardlydirected sprays of water which supplement an overhead shower spray whentaking a shower bath, whereby all parts of the body can be thoroughlywashed and rinsed in a convenient and pleasing manner. This isaccomplished by a simple, practical and economical arrangement whichlends itself for adaptation to all types of shower bath installations.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacricing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A bath mat comprising a base constructed to rest securely on asupporting surface and to provide safe footing for a person whenstanding on the base, tubular means on said base having an inlet andbeing formed with a row of apertures arranged for directing sprays ofwater upwardly and directly against the body of the person stand- Vingon said base, and an associated controlled conduit means having a rstend connected to said inlet and having a second end for connection to asource of water under pressure.

2. A bath mat according to claim 1, including valve means downstream ofsaid conduit means and connected for controlling the ow of water to saidtubular means.

3. A bath mat according to claim 1, wherein said tubular means hastubular sections surrounding the edges of said base and said tubularsections have a common inlet.

4. A bath mat according to claim 2, wherein said valve means is a footoperated valve adjacent said inlet of said tubular means,

5. A bath mat according to claim 1, including means operativelyassociated with said tubular means for varying the angle at which thesprays of water are directed upwardly.

6 A bath mat comprising an oblong base constructed to rest securely on asupporting surface and to provide safe footing for a person whenstanding on the base, a tubular frame integrally formed with said basehaving a section at one long side of said base formed with an inlet andhaving a section at each short side of said base each formed with a rowof apertures for directing sprays of water upwardly which intersect in ahorizontal plane in which a portion of the body of the person standingon said base mat is located, and conduit means connected to said inletfor connection to a source of water under pressure.

7. A bath mat according to claim 6, wherein a foot operated valve ismounted in said frame for controlling the ow of water into said inlet.

8. A bath mat according to claim 6, wherein said section of said tubularframe at a short side of said base is iiexible and includes a footoperated section for distorting said last mentioned tubular meanssection to vary the angle at which the sprays of water are directedupwardly.

9. A bath mat comprising a base having a generally flat undersideconstructed to rest securely on a supporting surface and having anupperside constructed to provide safe footing for a person when standingon the base, a

vcontinuous tubular frame formed integral with said base at theperiphery thereof and being provided with two opposite rows of aperturesarranged for directing sprays of water upwardly which intersect in ahorizontal plane in which a portion of the body of the person standingon said base is located, said tubular frame having an inlet between saidtwo rows of apertures, and conduit means connected to said inlet forconnection to a source of water under pressure.

10. A bath mat according to claim 9, wherein said base is in the shapeof an oblong rectangle and said rows of apertures are in the short sidesof said tubular frame.

11. A bath mat according to claim 10, wherein said inlet is located atabout the midpoint of one of the long sides of said tubular frame.

12. A bath mat according to claim 10, wherein said tubular frame isflexible and has a flexible foot operable section at the short sides ofsaid base for distorting the short sides of said tubular frame to varythe angle at Which the sprays of Water are directed upwardly.

13. A bath mat according to claim 1, wherein certain apertures arearranged to direct sprays of water at one angle and other apertures arearranged to direct sprays of water at another angle.

14. A bath mat according to claim 13, wherein two rows of apertures areprovided with one row arranged to direct the sprays at one angle andwith the other row arranged to direct sprays at another angle.

15. A bath mat according to claim 13, wherein the row of apertures hasalternate apertures for providing the sprays at different angles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES Y PATENTS 552,839 1/1896Humphrey 4-150 2,456,703 12/1948 Hatchette 4-145 2,770,812 1l/1956,Whiteside 4-145 2,829,379 4/ 1958 McGee 4-145 3,086,517 4/1963 Dunkle12S- 66 3,240,208 3/ 1966 Everston 12S-66 FOREIGN PATENTS 352,095 3/1961 Switzerland.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A BATH MAT COMPRISING A BASE CONSTRUCTED TO REST SECURELY ON ASUPPORTING SURFACE AND TO PROVIDE SAFE FOOTING FOR A PERSON WHENSTANDING ON THE BASE, TUBULAR MEANS ON SAID BASE HAVING AN INLET ANDBEING FORMED WITH A ROW OF APERTURES ARRANGED FOR DIRECTING SPRAYS OFWATER UPWARDLY AND DIRECTLY AGAINST THE BODY OF THE PERSON STANDING ONSAID BASE, AND AN ASSOCIATED CONTROLLED CONDUIT